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Ethical Problems
There are two ways to look at the ethical problems in the Willowbrook study. There is ethical competency and ethical incompetency. Ethical competency Ethics in research suggest that the activity should be beneficial to the participant and the harm should not outweigh the benefits. This was satisfied in the Willowbrook study (Education Development Center, 2009). Researchers chose the area of Willowbrook due to the prevalence of hepatitis and not because the children were mentally ill. During the time of research, normal schools were overcrowded and this led to parents being asked to take their children in the research facility. This was a form of acquiring consent, making it an ethical action. This shows respect for the participants (Education Development Center, 2009). Valuable information about hepatitis was provided to the community. Gamma globulin was mentioned as a remedy with a protective effect to both hepatitis A and B. The other benefit was the reduced infections to hepatitis. There was an 80% decrease in employees who caught hepatitis B (Education Development Center, 2009). It is important to mention that the children who participated in the study were guarded from infections from other diseases prevalent in Willowbrook. Their health was monitored by researchers making this an additional benefit. There are children who got significant benefits from the injection offered during the period of research (Education Development Center, 2009). The research protocol was verified by different boards, including universities and the state (Education Development Center, 2009). The team voluntarily used a well-known code in human experiment for the purpose of their study. The need to isolate carriers was not satisfied because the children were interacting freely for the purpose of the study. One could not point out the already infected children. During this time in history, special facilities were the best for mentally challenges children. This made parents want to take their children to this facility (Education Development Center, 2009). Ethical incompetency The first problem that the Willowbrook researchers should have foreseen is that the mentally ill children were incapable of conceptualizing the risk and the results that could have followed the Willowbrook hepatitis study (Education Development Center, 2009). This means that these children were in no position to receive informed consent. It is true that the parents were provided with permission slips but this did not satisfy the need for informed consent (Education Development Center, 2009). The researchers did not state the positive and negative outcomes of the study. This is definitely an ethical problem with the Willowbrook study. Recruitment to the facilities was questionable (Education Development Center, 2009). Coercive and malicious methods were used in getting the parents to commit their children in the study. A good example is the 1964 closure of the main school where parents were told that there were vacancies in the study facility for children. There was a public outcry because the parents did not have any option other than to take their children to the study facility. The parents wanted to ensure that their mentally ill children were cared for and the hepatitis unit was their only option. The action of manipulating the vulnerability of the children was inappropriate. The very act of introducing the hepatitis virus to the mentally challenged children was disrespectful to these persons (Education Development Center, 2009). The fairness of this study was deprived in many aspects. Children were used for the purpose of this study (Education Development Center, 2009). Adults who understand the complexity of introduction of a virus to the body should have been used for this study. There were 1000 adults who were employed in Willowbrook, but coincidentally there was no previous study where adults were used. Willowbrook had problems of sanitation which resulted from the overcrowding. The issue of sanitation was a responsibility of the healthcare department. Instead of taking this responsibility to make Willowbrook a better place, they took this as an opportunity to conduct experiments. This act of opportunizing on the vulnerable people was unfair (Education Development Center, 2009).